Just to knock the Concorde speculation on the head straight away...
Originally Posted by Toshirozero
...the Concorde in Toulouse, kept operational in support of the Paris accident investigation.
That ended a couple of years ago. The aircraft is now just another museum exhibit, open to the public.
... the one in Toulouse which is nominally airworthy, or could achieve airworthy status...
Sadly, no. Once the care-and-maintenance program ended, very little was even done to maintain the aircraft presentable ...there is already corrosion visible in several places. And the smell of damp in the cockpit is quite noticeable. (I was on the aircraft only a few months ago.)
Originally Posted by ATSA1
BTW, the ex AF Concorde at Le Bourget is still semi-functional, the nose still goes up and down! I don't know about the rest of the systems though... I am going to see it next month, I will try and find out!
Semi-functional is the right word. Some of the hydraulics and electrical systems have been kept functional, so the nose and the intake ramps can still be moved, the cockpit lights can still be turned on, some of the alarms can still be tested (makes a nice "son-et lumières") and you can still listen to the radio.
The hydraulics are run off the green ground test auxiliary pump. The blue system has not been under pressure for the last five years, the flying controls have never moved in all that time, and of course engines, fuel system and a lot of other systems are no longer functional either.
So yes, "semi-functional" is all.
(I personally know the people keeping her 'alive'. Sorry to disappoint you.)
End of that particular story.
CJ